LaCie’s Cloudbox backs up 100GB on your desk then mirrors it in the cloud

Most people know that backing up our important files on an external hard drive is something we should really be doing. That’s all good and well except for when something happens to your external hard drive and you lose your backup. LaCie has come out with a new product that will solve that problem by backing up your backup by storing it in the cloud.

There’s been a lot of “cloud” talk lately with Apple announcing its new iCloud service. But like with many cloud services, iCloud users will surely suffer from the slow upload speeds that go hand-in-hand with backing up your files. LaCie, however, has created a new cloud-based backup device called the CouldBox.

Normally one backs up their information with either an external hard drive or with a cloud service. An external hard drive is always susceptible to being dropped, stolen, or, god forbid your house catches on fire, burned to a crisp. The advantage of this method is that uploading your files on an external HDD is usually a quick process. On the other hand, uploading all your files to the cloud is slow. Depending on the size and quantity of your files, it can take days to weeks to upload. However, once you have uploaded it you can basically access it from any Internet-connected device.

The Cloudbox combines the two, and works in two parts. First, the user uploads their content to the Cloudbox, which is a $199 100GB drive more or less. This process is super quick. Then, the information is backed up in the cloud which takes a little longer, but the nice thing about the Cloudbox is that you can turn off your computer and just have the box transmit your data to the cloud, saving you a lot of hassle and keeping your energy bill low.

The information you store in the cloud is secured by 128-bit AES military-grade encryption, and not even LaCie keeps your password on file. The Cloudbox features something similar to Apple’s “Versions” for iOS X that it announced at WWDC. Data you backup can be kept in up to 10 separate versions. This means you could save different versions of a project you’re working on in case you accidentally delete something or want to revert back to an earlier version.

The Cloudbox sounds great, but there’s one big problem. Besides the $200 cost of the box itself which includes 100GB of local network storage, you get a one-year online subscription. However, after that, there’s a yearly fee of $100 to use the online cloud part. So you are tied in for the future once you’ve invested in the drive.

If LaCie finds a way to lower that price, which they should considering your initial investment, the Cloudbox could be a really useful tool in keeping your content backed up.

Speak Your Mind

Anonymous

$1/GB isn’t terrible for a whole year, seeing as SugarSync will charge you $50 for 30gb/yr or $100 for 60GB. And Dropbox will charge $20/mo for 100GB. Basically when you buy it, you’re buying the drive for $99 and paying your first year at $100. Their pricing is on par with other services, so really they don’t need to lower the price until other services do.